A History of Vampires in New England
Page 13
THE YORK WITCH
Mary Nasson of Old York, Maine, was a noted and respected herbalist in the community. It was because of her knowledge in healing with plants that she became known as the “white witch.” This moniker has followed her through the centuries. She was born in 1745 and grew up in the York village. It was there that she married Samuel Nasson and settled down to a life of helping others in the little hamlet. It is said that she also was a skilled exorcist, who rid many houses of demons and afflictions in her time. Her time was rather short, though, as Mary died on August 18, 1774, at the age of twenty-nine.
Her grave stands out among the rest as the only one in the burial yard with a giant slab of granite over the top. If legend is correct, the people of York placed it there to keep the white witch from rising from her tomb. Another plausible theory contends that the slab was placed there to keep the livestock from accidentally digging her up. Farmers, on the condition that their livestock could still graze among the stones, donated land for many of these early burial grounds to the villages. The townsfolk were in charge of the upkeep of their grave sites, and after Mary died, her husband removed to Stanford, thus making it very difficult to tend to his wife’s grave on a regular basis. If the stone was placed there to keep the witch from rising, it did not work as well as the townsfolk hoped—at least not in the present era. According to legend, Mary had no children. Her ghost now roams the area where she is buried. Not only has her spirit been encountered in the burial grounds, but it has been seen across the street as well. Children have spoken of the nice young lady who pushes their swings in the playground across the street. Mothers have even seen the swings moving and have heard the children talking to an unseen entity. If it is Mary, perhaps she has stayed behind to play with the children she always wanted.
The grave of the “white witch,” Mary Nasson, of York, Maine. It is claimed to be the only known burial in New England with a giant granite slab across the top.
DOGTOWN
In the center of Cape Ann there is the village of witches, werewolves and, of course, dogs. Dogtown Common was once home to many of the wealthy folks who sought shelter from coastal pirates and the British. As time went on, the threats receded, and the people of the commons went back to their homes along the shoreline, leaving the ramshackle buildings for the less desirable of the area. These were witches and fortunetellers who would lay curses on those who did not comply with their needs. The early folk acquired dogs for protection from these squatters. As the people died, the dogs became wanderers among the settlement. One witch, Tammy Younger, had fangs that protruded from her mouth. When she died, her spirit was said to occupy the room where her coffin lay until she was buried.
Younger and her partner, Luce George, would give the evil eye to passing villagers who did not yield some of their bounty. It was told that they could freeze an ox team in their tracks with just one look.
The last of the houses came down in the early 1800s, but the witches, werewolves and other creatures that are said to still inhabit Dogtown roam the old trails, looking for the less wary. Dogtown is alive with the people of the past. If the spirits can rise from the tomb, it makes sense that they would remain in a place where magical legends have endured throughout the centuries.
In conclusion, there is no doubt that New England is full of strange facts and folklore in regard to witches, werewolves, demons and vampires. No wonder our ancestors and early settlers took precautions against things they could not see. What did they see back then that we do not today? Perhaps it is sitting right beside us on the bus or subway or walking past us on the street.
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WEBSITES
www.ctgravestones.com
www.foodforthedead.com
www.griswold-ct.org
www.hplovecraft.com/writings/fiction.asp
www.joenickell.com
www.masscrossroads.com
www.monroehistoricalsociety.org
www.mountauburn.org
www.nearparanormal.com/tales.html
www.neghostproject.com
www.quahog.org
www.ricemeteries.tripod.com
www.umdj.edu/globaltb/tbhistory
vampirologist.blogspot.com
www.wikipedia.org
INDEX
A
American Anthropologist 28
The Animistic Vampire in New England 28
B
Bellantoni, Nicholas, Dr. 23, 40, 63, 64, 65
Bell, Michael, Dr. 23, 26, 40, 59, 60, 64, 67, 89, 97, 103, 105, 114
Bowditch, Henry Ingersoll, Dr. 89, 90, 92, 125
Brown, Edwin 111, 113, 121
Brown, George T. 111, 113, 121
Brown, Mercy Lena 73, 79, 102, 108, 111, 113, 119, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125
Burton, Captain Isaac 49, 50
C
Calmet, Antoine Augustin 20, 28, 29, 30, 31, 115
Calmette, Albert 125
Clauson, James Earl 25, 26, 56
Cole, Dolly 132
Cole, Eunice 130
Cole, J.R. 105
Cranna, Hannah (Hovey) 128
D
Deveau, Mary 96, 97
Dogtown 135
F
Food for the Dead 26, 60, 67, 89, 105, 114
G
Guerin, Camille 125
H
History of Tolland County, Connecticut 105
Hovey, Hannah. See Cranna, Hannah (Hovey)
J
Johnson, Isaac 39, 40, 41
K
Koch, Robert, Dr. 13, 14, 104
L
Lovecraft, H.P. 122, 123
M
Mansfield, David L. 46, 47, 48
Marten, Benjamin 14
Martin, Christopher 56
Mather, Cotton 15, 26, 34
McCain, Diana Ross 94
McNally, Raymond T., Dr. 27
Metcalf, Harold, Dr. 121
N
Narragansett Times 27
Nasson, Mary 133
Nickell, Joe 50
Norwich Evening Courier 95, 96
O
Old East Cemetery 40
Old Rhode Island 27, 56, 99
P
Pawtuxet Valley Gleaner 120
Pettibone, Judge John S. 49, 50
Providence Journal 111, 114, 120
R
Ray family 94, 95, 96, 97
Rider, Sidney 26, 56, 59, 60, 75
Rose, Phebe 101
Rose, Ruth Ellen 99, 100, 101, 102
Rose, William 99, 100, 103
S
Sledzik, Paul 63, 64
Spaulding, Lieutenant Leonard 45, 46, 47
Staples, Abigail 51, 52, 54
Staples, Stephen 51, 52, 54
Stetson, George 28, 75
Stoker, Bram 122, 123
T
Tillinghast, Sarah 55, 57–59
Tillinghast, Stutley 55, 56, 57, 59
V
Vaughn, Nellie Louise 107, 108, 109
Voltaire 21, 32, 72, 119
Von Roentgen, Wilhelm Konrad 125
W
Waksman, Selman 126
Y
Young, Alse 128
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Author of A Guide to Haunted New England (History Press), Thomas D’Agostino is one of the region’s most well-known writers and investigators of the paranormal. His article “Rhode Island: Vampire Capital of America” was published in FATE magazine in October 2001. As founders of the Paranormal United Research Society, Tom and his wife, Arlene, have been extensively studying and investigating paranormal accounts for over twenty-eight years. In addition to the History Press title, Tom is author of Haunted Rhode Island, Haunted New Hampshire, Haunted Massachusetts, Pirate Ghosts’ and Phantom Ships and Abandoned Villages and Ghost Towns of New England by Schiffer Publishing. Tom also builds musical instruments, rebuilds clocks and antiques and collects rare books on New England legends, haunts and folklore.
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